It’s noon at Bones in Buckhead, and I’ve just sat down at the bar. The Friday lunch crowd files in, and barstools fill with men in golf shirts talking about the deals they’ve closed or the vacations they just returned from. Yacht rock plays overhead. The bar, with its tartan-clad ceiling and mahogany wood tones, is more casual than the dining room —but there’s still a touch of pomp and plenty of the restaurant’s famous caricatures adorning the walls.
Even though it feels like I’ve wandered into the men’s lounge of a country club, I’m quickly welcomed. My bartender, Robert, lays out a napkin place setting along with complimentary cheese biscuits. (Think cheese straws, but flat and round.) He chats with me about the menu, in between saying “Hi” to regulars, and reassures me that plenty of people come to Bones just for the burger. When I ask if guests in the dining room can also get cheese biscuits, his counterpart responds with, “We’re not in the business of saying ‘No.’”
That level of customer service appears standard for a Buckhead steakhouse, and you have plenty of steakhouses to choose from, too. The affluent neighborhood is home to nearly a dozen steakhouses, with Luella and its private cocktail club set to open in the former The Ivy space on Roswell Road later this year.
But Buckhead wasn’t always a steakhouse hub in Atlanta. It all started with Bones in 1979, followed by Hal’s, a mile away on Piedmont Road, and Chops at One Buckhead Plaza. Both Hal’s and Chops opened in 1989, when the landscape of Buckhead as we know it today looked quite different.
“Where the St. Regis is, was a huge piece of land with this circular driveway,” said Chef Pano I. Karatassos, culinary director of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, which owns Chops and Lobster Bar on West Paces Ferry Road. “That’s where we used to do valet.”
Longtime steakhouses exist all across Atlanta. Joey D’s Oak Room in Dunwoody opened in 1990, and Highland Tap, known locally as “The Tap” and “Steak Basement,” opened in Virginia-Highland in 1989 below street level on North Highland Avenue. Buckhead, however, became a lightning rod for steakhouses. The neighborhood’s wealthy and high-profile residents, density of office towers, and cluster of luxury hotels, like the Intercontinental and the Westin, make it a prime spot for expense account dining.
Combined with executives and conference-goers working and attending meetings in Buckhead, there’s a big appetite for wining and dining over steak on the company card. But the continued success of steakhouses in Buckhead may have more to do with the dining experiences each establishment offers.
“The steakhouse has replaced the fine dining outing,” said Niko Karatassos, co-president of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.
As Atlanta’s fine dining restaurants grew more casual, with people in jeans spending $250 on tasting menus, steakhouses now feel like a fête. At New York Prime, for example, every dish and drink is wheeled out on a cart and served with flourish. The dark, moody atmosphere of a classic steakhouse stands in stark contrast to modern dining rooms designed for Instagram.
“I love putting my shorts on and going down to Piedmont Park and going on the Beltline and all that good stuff, but I’m not dressed for a steakhouse afterwards,” Pano explained. “You come to Buckhead, you’re preparing yourself, and you’re ready to have that type of [fine] dining experience.”
So which steakhouse should you visit in Buckhead? Well, that depends on what you want out of your meal. While the common thread is steak, it’s usually not the beef cuts that make a steakhouse pop. It’s the entire experience, including the side dishes, the drinks (the martinis), and the vibe.
Check out our brief guide to Buckhead steakhouses below.
For a power lunch: Chops
Lunch at Chops, with its Art Deco-inspired design, is a treat. The go-to here is the steak and wedge salad, a $34 plate of broiled tenderloin sliced and tucked into the center of a massive onion ring, accompanied by a wedge salad and a side of steak sauce. Pano refers to it as the “Pano Classic.” His father, Pano Karatassos, learned how to make colossal onion rings at the Lodge of the Four Seasons in Lake Ozark and developed the steak sauce 50 years ago.
For seafood: Chops Lobster Bar
Chops Lobster Bar resides on the ground floor of Chops but stands on its own. Tiled vaulted ceilings give it a glamorous, Grand Central Station-type vibe, and the seafood display amazes the minute you walk through the door. Can you order seafood at Chops? Of course, but it’s given more of a moment at Lobster Bar, where you can feast on fried lobster tail and a stacked shellfish tower with whole Maine lobster, Florida shrimp, oysters, and more. Martinis here are a must, served classic with a twist and dirty with blue cheese-stuffed olives.
For an old-school steakhouse experience: Bones
The godfather of Atlanta steakhouses reigns supreme when it comes to the total package: a luxe atmosphere, servers who’ve been there forever, and always treat you like a regular, and everything from the steak to the sides done to perfection. Bones is where the who’s who of Buckhead dines. Fun fact: you can order a half-portion of the famously massive Mountain High ice cream cake with layers of vanilla, chocolate, and rum raisin ice creams, which comes with candied pecans, crushed Oreos, and silky French meringue.
Related stories:
• The Martini is never out of fashion. The Martini is forever.
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For serious sides: New York Prime
The Buckhead outpost of New York Prime resides within an office building near the Whitley, and groups of conference attendees typically populate the buzzy atmosphere here. The steaks are great, featuring a smoky flavor imparted from the chain’s signature “Pittsburgh-style” char. But it’s the sides at New York Prime that win the night with standouts like cheesy mashed potatoes and sweet-tangy, crispy Brussels sprouts.
For a steakhouse that’s a scene: Little Alley Steak
Little Alley eschews classic steakhouse decor for a more modern take, with lighting fixtures made from meat hooks, butcher blocks lining the walls, a stunning floor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar, and two lively outdoor patios. On weekend evenings, the atmosphere at Little Alley’s Buckhead location leans a bit clubby with plenty of beautiful people to match the beautifully presented platters of steak. Little Alley also includes a location in historic downtown Roswell.
Related story: A night at Johnny’s Hideaway in Buckhead
For steak and a side of pasta: KR SteakBar
At Chef Kevin Rathbun’s KR SteakBar in the enclave of Peachtree Hills in Buckhead, the pasta often outshines the steak. That’s not to say you shouldn’t order steak at the restaurant. However, the house-made pastas at KR SteakBar are just that good and could easily be a standalone meal. Try the garganelli with jalapeño pesto, hazelnuts, and pancetta, or the orecchiette with pork sausage, basil, and zucchini.
For a steakhouse that’s also kind of a bar: Hal’s “the Steakhouse”
Hal’s occupies two floors in what might be mistaken for an office building on Old Ivy Road, with bars both upstairs and downstairs. Inside, the neighborhood spot known for expertly prepared steaks like filet mignon and complementing accoutrements offers a bustling, cigar-smoke-imbued atmosphere in the evenings. You can smoke those cigars at the downstairs bar where a keyboardist plays and sings nightly. It can get a little raucous at times, especially with sports on the TVs, live music playing, and people sipping on wine and cocktails before and after dinner.